Me: Hello and welcome to poetry examination plus on iRadio, during todays podcast I will be analyzing the poem ‘The Little Black Boy by William Blake’ with the help of poetry expert Garth Dee. While analyzing the poem we will address areas such as how the William Blake has represented his values attitudes and perspectives, how he has used language, which engages and influences his readers; We will also talk about how the poem has impacted and influenced teenage readers. Hi Garth welcome to the show.
Garth: Thank you, I’m very glad to be here.
Me: First off, Garth would you like to tell todays listeners and I a summary of the poem?
Garth: The Negro boy compares himself to a white English boy. He claims his soul is as white as the English …show more content…
However The Negro boy’s mother sets him straight and he accepts the explanation that his mother gives him, while the Negro boy imagines himself as having come through the world’s testing stronger than the English boy. No matter their relative positions in this life or the next, the theme of equality of men before God is frequently mentioned in this poem. For instance, William Blake is not criticizing a mentality that offers clichés to control the oppressed. Instead, he claims that the very life the Negro boy lives is part of his future perfection.
Me: That’s really interesting Garth, after hearing about how William Blake represents his values, attitudes and perspectives I wonder how these values, attitudes and perspectives impact and influence our teenage readers. Why do you think that William Blake’s poem has such an effective way of portraying his values attitudes and beliefs in this poem Garth?
Garth: Well, William Blake as effectively made his poem into stanzas, which are verses where every second line rhymes with each other. The form is a variation on the poem stanza, and the slightly longer lines are well suited to the educational tone of this poem.
Me: If the purpose of the poem was to educate I think William Blake really did achieve what he
Garth: Thank you, I’m very glad to be here.
Me: First off, Garth would you like to tell todays listeners and I a summary of the poem?
Garth: The Negro boy compares himself to a white English boy. He claims his soul is as white as the English …show more content…
However The Negro boy’s mother sets him straight and he accepts the explanation that his mother gives him, while the Negro boy imagines himself as having come through the world’s testing stronger than the English boy. No matter their relative positions in this life or the next, the theme of equality of men before God is frequently mentioned in this poem. For instance, William Blake is not criticizing a mentality that offers clichés to control the oppressed. Instead, he claims that the very life the Negro boy lives is part of his future perfection.
Me: That’s really interesting Garth, after hearing about how William Blake represents his values, attitudes and perspectives I wonder how these values, attitudes and perspectives impact and influence our teenage readers. Why do you think that William Blake’s poem has such an effective way of portraying his values attitudes and beliefs in this poem Garth?
Garth: Well, William Blake as effectively made his poem into stanzas, which are verses where every second line rhymes with each other. The form is a variation on the poem stanza, and the slightly longer lines are well suited to the educational tone of this poem.
Me: If the purpose of the poem was to educate I think William Blake really did achieve what he